Hello ,

A British World War II veteran who was reported missing from his nursing in 2014, and turned up on the beach in Normandy - wearing his medals - during the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. 

Bernard Jordan, 89, left The Pines, a nursing home in Hove, England, on Thursday morning and did not return that night. Dressed in a gray raincoat with a jacket underneath that had his medals pinned to it, Jordan took a bus to France to be there for the anniversary of the largest amphibious assault in history, according to a report by The Guardian. Meanwhile, the nursing home reported him missing to the Sussex Police at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday, resulting in a search of the area and local hospitals. 

At 10:30 p.m., the home received a call from a younger veteran saying that he met Jordan on the bus and that he was accompanying him to Normandy. Gracewell Healthcare, which runs The Pines, confirmed it was Jordan, who is also a former mayor of Hove. *

I couldn't resist a smile when I read this story.  Even though I don't know all the details here (only what I've read on the various news sites),  I couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth. I thought about this WW II veteran going back to the place where his comrades and he stood together for freedom, and I got a bit choked up.

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions;[a] if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." John 14:1-3

Contemplating this story made me think of another One in history that stood for human freedom, fought a brave fight, and is soon returning to the former "battle site."  Jesus is coming back again soon...and I want to be waiting for Him when He arrives.

Have a great day and God bless!

Pastor Mike / The Open Word